The Arab Spring propelled the Brotherhood onto the center stage of politics The Muslim Brotherhood is a long-standing Islamist organization that originated in Egypt and has branches around the world, mainly in the Middle East. The organization has survived for more than 90 years, and in accordance with changes in the regional power balance during that time; its activities have been regulated, suppressed, or supported by different countries. It was the Arab Spring that brought special attention to the Brotherhood’s existence.

New Delhi (ABC Live): The 2023 Israel–Hamas war reached to its 36^th day and till today it has not turned into real-time multi war fronts for Israel as it was projected that It might invite second Arab-Israeli War barring few exceptions from Hezbollah, Syria and Yemen.

The ABC Research team working on the 2023 Israel–Hamas war refers research articles on why in 2023 all Arab countries are not taking joint military actions against Israel as they did in 1948 with sole aim to make our readers understand the genesis behind the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.

The ABC Research first refers research report published by Mitsui & Co. Global Strategic Studies Institute in 2021 which reflects the fault line between two major blocs of Arab world, i.e. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt and their allies Vs Turkey and Qatar on the issue of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The research article describes How the Muslim Brotherhood Divided the Arab World?

The Arab Spring propelled the Brotherhood onto the center stage of politics The Muslim Brotherhood is a long-standing Islamist organization that originated in Egypt and has branches around the world, mainly in the Middle East. The organization has survived for more than 90 years, and in accordance with changes in the regional power balance during that time; its activities have been regulated, suppressed, or supported by different countries. It was the Arab Spring that brought special attention to the Brotherhood’s existence.

The popular protest movement that arose in Tunisia at the end of 2010 spread instantly to other Arab countries, causing governments to fall one after the other in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen.

While Syria avoided a collapse of government, it remains in a state of civil war to this day. Protests spread on the streets and via social media in other countries as well, forcing each of the countries concerned to respond. The Arab Spring has significantly changed the power map of the Middle East.

While the Brotherhood was not at the center of these movements, it took advantage of the turmoil to strengthen its political influence.

In Tunisia, the Islamist political party Ennahda, an offspring of the Brotherhood, became the leading party in parliamentary elections held in October 2011, while in Libya, the National Forces Alliance and the Justice and Construction Party, which support or are aligned with the Brotherhood, became the top two political parties following the establishment of a provisional government in Tripoli in the west of the country.

 In Egypt, Mohammed Morsi, a senior figure in the Brotherhood, was elected in the presidential elections held in May and June 2012.

The countries of the Middle East responded to this situation in one of two ways. Turkey and Qatar, which have supported the Brotherhood for a while, marched in step, supporting Brotherhood parties in each country and strengthening their presence in the Middle East while drawing closer to Iran.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt, which resumed its clampdown on the Brotherhood after the launch of the new government following the 2013 military coup, were alarmed not only by the Brotherhood itself, but by the rise of Turkey and Qatar, which were harboring the Brotherhood. It was under these circumstances that the Qatar diplomatic crisis occurred in 2017, when four countries, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain, which is strongly influenced by Saudi Arabia, severed diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Because they had designated the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, the four countries called for Qatar to cease its support for the Brotherhood, and also made other demands, including the withdrawal of Turkish troops stationed in the country. While the issue of diplomatic ties itself was resolved in January 2021 by an agreement between the quartet and Qatar, the status of the above mentioned demands remains up in the air, and a fundamental settlement has yet to be realized.

In Libya, where governance is divided between the east and west of the country, Turkey and Qatar support the western government, which as mentioned previously is close to the Brotherhood, while Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt support the secular government in the east, yet another example where conflict over the Brotherhood is apparent.

In Next post we will publish next referred article by the ABC Research team on The 2023 Israel–Hamas